Snowcoated
1998
“Snowcoated” was maybe the first album (and one out of only three) I really had something like a direction for, and that was actually completed. It has, as you would put it in literature, a beginning, a middle part and an end. It was also the last time I tried to pay tribute to 90’s lounge and drum&base influences (which, after all, might always have been a doomed venture on my Yamaha). However, some songs that came out had a certain strange beauty to them, and despite the fact I don’t like said influences any more, I still love to listen to some of the tracks.
(missing tracks will eventually be added)
Snowcoated pI
There are four tracks entitled “Snowcoated” on this album, each in a different time. This one’s 5/4. Each features a basic pattern of keys (piano, harpsichord), string-scapes, a choir and a different set of effects (distortion in this case). They all have prominent beats, and they all carry images of winter and gliding over icy landscapes for me.
Ghost and the Geisha
Love this one – I never got closer to imitating Dead Can Dance than here… I also have to admit that I can’t remember any more what I did to the rhythm of this song. I think that I put tracks in different times on top of each other (the melody being 4/4 and the beats 5/4 or the other way around). I also think the piece has a certain sensual quality to it – hence its title.
Liquid Purse Leap
A little trip hop piece akin to the songs you’ve heard on “Dread Hip ‘n’ Happy Drop”. I still ignore the fact that artificial saxes suck, and that my “happy” pieces always run the risk of plain silliness. The title of the track is a painful pun on the favorite feline activities: Lick, Eat, Purr, Sleep. Go figure.
Temple
Maybe the hoppiest of all pieces hop, with some doses of orientalism on top. I was a lot into bagpipes at that time; now, ten years later, I finally manage to play at least easy melodies on them.
Flower
I think that this song could have some potential if the drums didn’t sound like the revenge of the mean 80s solo entertainer association. Still, it gives me a kick to listen to it, so there you are. Rest assured, it doesn’t tread further into those realms from here on!
